My current helmet is a Specialized Align, cheap at $69 from my LBS and it fits my head PERFECTLY (other helmets i tried only contacted my head at points rather than cupping all the way around as this one does), the catch is i find it very hot, especially producing a lot of sweating on my forehead due to lack of airflow (in spite of the vents above the brow).

I can live with the sweat though, because it fits my head so well i believe it will do a better job than a helmet which transmits the force of a crash to only a few points on my head. Everyone has a different head though, so the only way to get a helmet that works for you is to try out as many as possible.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Hi, I recently bought a Spiuk brand helmet off a seller on feebay ( see specials post) and they fit really well, comes with bug net and a visor which can be taken off if not required. And or $30 I couldn't complain. Got quite a few more vents than the laser I got with the hybrid when I started cycling last year.

Lazer has some other interesting models too, and seem to sell them at local bike shops.I have no experience with them, so I can't really make a recommendation, but if it's a different look you're after, this may be the place...

Huihahaa wrote:I'm looking for a helmet that is ascetically pleasing. Something not to bulky and doesn't make me look like an 8 year old. Any body got any suggestions? Manufacturers? styles? What do y'all use?

Ascetically pleasing or aesthetically pleasing?

"Ascetic" means this: a person who practises severe self-discipline and abstains from all forms of pleasure, especially for religious or spiritual reasons.

Ip, I wonder if I could just buy the helmet covers from Yakkay and fit them on top of a Nutcase helmet say a size bigger.....fully compliant then n'est-ce pas? Alternative is I wait until Nutcase produces covers for their shell....

No, it's the covers that makes them non-compliant I believe. AFAIK the Australian Standard for helmets requires them to have smooth shells to reduce the chances of snagging on the road or other surfaces in a fall (which could make for a greater risk of axial brain trauma - a twisting action to your brain). Back in the early 90s there were many helmets that were sold with no shell, just polystyrene; or a fabric helmet cover. They are now no longer made.

Over in Europe (where Yakkay are made/marketed ) there is much less concern about standards-compliance for helmets. I prefer the German approach where the more important standard for bicycles is the lighting standard.

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

CommuRider wrote:Shows the absurdity when it is the means, and not the ends authorities are focusing on.

Not sure which means and ends you're referring to here ??

I see the ends as being protection of cyclists from head injuries. The means is a helmet that meets required standards, and is not going to worsen any injury via its design or use. Attached cameras, lights and fabric covers have been shown to worsen the risk of more severe head injury. Now I'm certainly no MHL apologist, but I do see the logic of this. I wear my helmet and it is a smooth shell, bare of any add-ons. My lights are fitted to the bike (what the legal requirement once was).

Note - no-one is going to enforce your use of such fabric covers, the authorities do not have the power. But the standard does control what is legally sold in Australia as a complete bicycle helmet package. Yakkay's fabric-covered package misses out - not to mention they don't have the local market potential to get AS certification for their helmet shell.

I would like to focus on more people riding bikes on our roads, but that is another topic entirely.

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

CommuRider wrote:Shows the absurdity when it is the means, and not the ends authorities are focusing on.

Not sure which means and ends you're referring to here ??

I see the ends as being protection of cyclists from head injuries.

Same if that is where helmet laws originated from. Nowadays, the $20k fee to test a helmet to meet Aussie standards begs the question if the Kmart and Aldi helmets being sold for a pittance underwent the same rigorous testing too.

Market niche here for Yakkay since most helmets being sold as AS accredited all seem to be inspired by TdF designs. Pity they can't afford paying the $20k. Nutcase looks fugly to me. I mean, if you look at the history of hat designs, the people who wore Nutcase types of hats belonged to the mental asylum (ok am exaggerating).

Worn by people who don't have the intellect (or care) to understand the concept of 'ventilation'. Yakkay is not far off. Fine for 6kms in Denmark, but I wouldn't want to wear one on a Melbourne summer day.

Riding bikes in traffic - what seems dangerous is usually safe; what seems safe is often more dangerous.

I'm very pleased with my Specialized Echelon. It fits really well (something that I have trouble with, being fuller-figured in that area) and isn't madly expensive (about $100). Looks, I dunno, that comes down to taste I guess. I think it looks all right...

I tried out some helmets...Dilemma... 50-58 small helmets seems to fit better but straps not as strong as align...My previous helmet plastic straps split and tour.Align only comes in one size I would say it has a little space on the sides...

By a helmet that is 30 bucks more fits better but whose straps will likely break like the specialized tactic.Or get a helmet with a bit of space on the sides with stronger straps and cheaper...I measured my head its around 54-56cm tactic felt the best